What Are We?
by Yoonggi
Summary: Yasuo and Riven longed for a place to belong to after wandering alone for so long. The two broken souls finding each other and forging something new between each other elicits moments of internal questioning of their own motives and resolves. Eventually the both of them realizing that: They finally found one another.
1. Chapter 1

A:N/ So this is a series that has been inspired by Follow The Wind. That long ass Yasuo x Riven story that was written by Tahimikamaxtli (still my idol and inspiration to this day) Anyway, this story follows the events after 'Confessions of a broken blade'. Hence why you'll see later on in the story the old couple that took Riven in as their daughter.

Leave a review if you can! Thanks a bunch!

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The world abandoned them. Two broken people who're seeking purpose in Ionia met each other face to face in a tea house in a rainy afternoon. Yasuo kept silent, being invited earlier by Riven to have tea. The samurai still garnered attention from the townsfolk, both of them still did. They were viewed as murderers. Nothing more than a pair of broken souls, lost in the world that scorned them as they tainted their hands in blood; one bled for her country's former ideologies and teachings, the other bled for justice after being wrongfully accused of murder.

"Riven… What do you want?" Yasuo asked in a wary tone, wanting to get out of the place as soon as possible to avoid causing bad business at the quaint tea shop.

"Company…" Riven voiced out, pouring them both tea as it arrived on their table. Yasuo eyed his cup of tea and saw his reflection onto the clear green liquid, grimacing at the long scar that ran across his face.

"I thought you prefer being alone?" Yasuo asked, drinking from his cup. Riven smiled before looking across the room and out towards the open doorway that was being soaked in the rain.

"In lonesomeness, we get to realize that we're still human. We can't live alone. We're weak and fragile, breaking easily at the slightest of force." She admitted, looking down and conflicted at her own words. Riven has been vulnerable to Yasuo ever since she confessed to her crimes. The woman in front of Yasuo struggled with her past, like him, she had her fair share of sleepless nights plagued with regrets and the voices of those whom she was forced to kill.

"You are right in the part that we're still human. So what now, Riven? What do you want to do?" he asked her from across the table. Riven slid across an Ionian charm that the both of them had forged on one of their labors. She gave it to him with a small smile on her face.

"I want to become friends with someone who shared the same pain as I did." She finally said what's on her chest, feeling lighter and better. Even if Yasuo refused to be friends with her, Riven knew that he wouldn't forgive easily as he still carried his burden.

"I am forever in your debt as well." Yasuo bowed. Riven did the same, exchanging charms with Yasuo after that as a sign of their friendship.

The rain continued to pour down. People were taking shelter at the tea house they were in, thankfully for the two the rain was part of their 'comfort things', which basically means that they don't mind getting wet under the rain. Both of them shared stories and a few light hearted laughs amongst themselves while walking under the rain with only their coats to keep them dry.

"Oh, we're already here." Yasuo muttered. The two of them shared a temporary bungalow by themselves after being relieved of duty temporarily by the League as part of their atonement to Ionia. For a while, people kept asking them if they were married or are starting a family soon, much to Yasuo and Riven's dismay, they soon told them that they weren't in a relationship and are just simply living together.

"Damn, I forgot to chop firewood earlier today…" Yasuo said when they got inside the cozy house. Riven took notice and searched for their firewood axe to use.

"I'll fetch some more I think there's still some dry wood left in the barn. I'll just chop those for now." She offered him a smile before going out again into the open rain. Yasuo sighed, hanging his coat to try on a rack nearby.

Yasuo made them dinner before Riven came back. A simple meat stew with steamed vegetables to warm them up, he then cooked some rice, patiently waiting for Riven to come back.

"Smells good, did you make dinner?" Riven asked out loud after getting them firewood. She was soaked thoroughly, her wet clothes clinging onto her body only made it more tempting for Yasuo to stare at her curves.

'Goddamn it…' he battled internally, wanting to look away from Riven. He coughed out loud and threw a towel towards the woman, turning away to hide the redness of his face.

"You should take a bath first you know? You're going to catch a cold if you eat like that." He reminded her, hearing her groan out before uttering a small 'thanks' in response.

Yasuo didn't eat until Riven showered and got changed. They both ate in silence, sometimes passing by a few awkward glances towards each other until one of them gave up.

"I know you're uncomfortable with me…" Riven said, taking her and Yasuo's dishes to the sink to wash them. Yasuo stopped her and grabbed her wrist gently.

"I-I really don't know how to act or even have the slightest clue on what to say… I'm sorry if you think I feel uncomfortable with you." It was the first time in a long time that Yasuo tried consoling someone. Taliyah was someone that annoyed him, so that crossed her out of the possible people that he consoled. Riven was there, she was there with him and was living with him for a few weeks now. He didn't want to make things awkward between them.

"Could you let me go now..?" Riven murmured a little flushed and embarrassed at Yasuo's sudden forwardness. Yasuo immediately dropped her hand and turned out, uttering a quick apology before dipping back into the rain.

"Dammit, why do I keep messing things up, Yone?" he asked out into the open coldness of the rain. He felt the rain pouring down onto him while he sat beneath a peach tree that was planted by the previous owner of his and Riven's house.

An umbrella soon made it over Yasuo's head, seeing Riven's soft features and her gracing smile towards him along with her outstretched hand made Yasuo's mind go haywire. He felt his heart pounding against his ribcage while he sat there, still confused.

"Come on, let's get you inside. You're going to catch a cold if you sit around under the wet ground like that." Riven teased, getting back at Yasuo for scolding her earlier. Yasuo chuckled and took her outstretched hand, feeling that static between her calloused fingers.

"Thanks, I owe you one." He smiled back at her as the two broken souls returned to their small house.

~ End


	2. Chapter 2

A:N/ I'm back with chapter 2! This didn't get much hits or even a review, but even so, I want to restart again the League of Legends fanfiction archive. Lately, the archive hasn't been doing so well if anyone has noticed. Compared to how it was back in 2015, the archive and writers here were more active compared to now. I do hope that people would get inspired again in writing for League of Legends.

Review if you can, it helps the story! Thanks again for reading!

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Several months of living in Ionia had a great effect on Riven. The woman had finally learned to forgive herself after years of torment from her past. She, along with Yasuo, would meditate each day underneath a peach tree nearby their house. It was a quaint feeling of belonging that settled between them. They co-existed with one another, often needing the other to help in their daily labors. It wasn't all bad however, since they had a home now.

Yasuo was making them tea when the man decided to ask her about something that's been on his mind for the past few months. "Riven, what are we?" he asked with worry. There wasn't development between them, but anytime that they would pass by the people seemed to think of them as a couple. It kept him thinking, and made the man confused.

"What are you on about?" Riven asked with slight suspicion. She arched an eyebrow towards Yasuo, unsure on what he was talking about.

Yasuo grunted in frustration and shook his head.

'There's no point in asking a pointless question…' he thought. He was struggling himself to find the answers. What are they?

"Yasuo, what are you talking about?" Riven asked again, standing up to meet in eye-level with Yasuo. Her white hair fluttered by the wind that blew through the room and her eyes scanning the man in front of her for answers.

Yasuo calmly put his hands on her shoulders, taking a deep breath. It was a thing that he should never have brought up, but it would drive him insane if he would never know the answer to it. His stormy grey eyes met Riven's green ones and he steeled his resolve.

"You make me feel weak." He admitted with his head hung low. "For the past few months that we've been living together, I've always wondered about you."

Riven tilted her head in confusion "Wondered about me?" she repeated and Yasuo nodded.

"What WE have… I want to cherish it" In his darkest times, Riven had been the person that Yasuo turned to when he didn't have anyone to talk to about his past. It burdened the samurai to even think about forgiving himself after such a long time of running and killing his pursuers. "Riven… I want to know what WE are… Am I to you just a friend?" Yasuo nervously asked whilst looking down hard on the floor.

Riven clenched her fists and lightly shook off Yasuo's hands on her shoulders. "Yasuo… What we have now is something that even I can't explain. I haven't been living in peace since the day I was born… " Riven's gaze softened as she turned away "I don't know what we are…"

They were both silenced by each other's response. The only thing that uttered noise in the room was the fluttering of the curtains on the windowsill and the sound of the tea being ready to be served. Riven saw the look of hurt flash by Yasuo's face as he turned away towards the kitchen stove.

Grabbing her cloak from nearby, Riven silently left their house to think about things. She wasn't good at expressing herself. Yasuo let her walk away without a word, feeling that it was appropriate to give her space for his intrusive question.

The samurai looked down on his cup of tea and shook his head "Yone… What have I done? I don't know what to feel." He pondered whilst staring idly at the tea.

Karma was meditating outside when she saw Riven walking aimlessly. The older woman hummed in curiosity. Karma and Riven had been friendly to each other ever since Riven and Yasuo were pardoned of their crimes. Ionians were still wary of the two swordsmen, but Karma was different. She sensed their inner thoughts and emotions, deeming them worthy of forgiveness for the remorse that they carried towards the people of Ionia.

Seeing the woman sitting cross-legged under a familiar peach tree, Karma walked over to the meditating woman with slight worry. She sensed the turmoil that was built up inside of Riven's heart.

"What seems to be the matter, Riven?" she asked. Riven's eyes flew open and had a look of panic when she saw Karma in front of her. "Sorry about frightening you. Can I sit?" Karma pointed at the spot next to Riven with a smile on her face. Riven moved a little bit so that Karma could sit comfortably next to her.

Riven huddled up her knees and rested her head on them "What do you do when you don't know the answer to something?" she mumbled, turning her head away from Karma out of fear that the woman would see right through her.

Karma sat there in silence before coming up with a reply "Well… I follow what my heart deems to be is right." She smiled, looking upwards at the pretty flowers of the peach tree. "Are you feeling conflicted about giving an answer to a particular question?" Karma asked, feeling that there was something more to be asked from Riven's question.

"Woman to woman… What would you do if the man you're living with, who you don't have any sort of special relationship with, asks you 'What are we'?" taking a more direct approach, Riven hoped that Karma would know what to say about her predicament with Yasuo. A light chuckle escaped from Karma's lips as she placed her hand softly onto Riven's.

Looking at her straight in the eye, Karma knew exactly what to say to her that would answer Riven's question "You look into your heart and think back about the times you've spent with him. Did you feel a certain tightening in your chest whenever you're talking with him?" Karma then asked with her eyebrow playfully arching.

Riven pondered for a bit, remembering the time when she and Yasuo finally made up. It was a rainy afternoon when she and Yasuo settled their differences. It made her think about the time when he held her wrist so firm yet gently. Her heart then skipped a beat when she remembered the look on Yasuo's face back then.

"Karma… Is it natural for men to look at us women with such confusion and fear in their faces?" Riven asked through her own pondering. The very same hurtful look on Yasuo's face earlier flashed by on her mind again, the same look that Yasuo had when he grabbed her wrist back then.

Karma placed her hands onto Riven and smiled "Riven, he's just as confused as you. There's this feeling inside of him that made him want to get closer to you, but there's something holding him back." She explained more clearly. Riven still wasn't catching up to Karma's point by then. "Riven, Yasuo's feeling conflicted on his feelings towards you."

A bewildered look flashed across Riven's face.

'Why would Yasuo be confused about what he feels towards me?' she asked herself before face palming moments afterwards. Riven finally put it together in her head and it caused the woman to blush.

"Y-You can't be serious?" she looked at Karma warily, finally getting the woman's point earlier. Karma chuckled and nodded, finally they were on the same page. "But there's nothing special about me? How could Yasuo be feeling something for the woman whom caused him to become a fugitive?" Riven asked again, feeling guilty about the things that Yasuo went through because of her.

"That's only something that the two of you can answer for yourselves." Karma smiled, urging Riven to go back and confront Yasuo once and for all. "Riven, how do you feel about Yasuo?" Karma asked seriously.

Riven clutched her hand towards her chest and felt her lip quivering. "I feel warmth for the past few months that we've spent time with each other. I thought it was just ordinary, but I never knew that he was feeling a certain way towards me…"

Riven's walk back to their house was accompanied by mumbling and much self-scolding. When she reached their house, she noticed that Yasuo was gone. A note had been left on the table and it sent a small pang of guilt towards Riven's chest when she read through the letter that was neatly written in Ionian.

" _My apologies for leaving without notice… I'm going out for some time to think about things that I've said. I'll be back in a few days, so please don't worry about me – Sincerely yours, Yasuo…"_ at the end of the letter was Yasuo's signature. Riven sighed placed the letter down onto the table.

"Oh my goodness… We're acting like children…" she muttered in annoyance. Yasuo must've misunderstood her leaving earlier. She didn't want things to end up like this, but it was already done. She would have to wait until Yasuo comes back.

~ End


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